Sunday, November 12, 2006
A Rebuilding Year
I haven't had much time to ruminate on the election results these past several days since the debacle on November 7. Tied up with personal and business matters.
It was interesting to see how accurate David Brooks was in his view several weeks ago that congressional moderates would get the boot. That's when I realized Chafee was doomed, and that the likely outcome in RI would be a Democratic sweep.
Chafee made no effort to pull in Laffey supporters, probably out of fear he would be deemed to be too right wing and too much of a warmonger if he did. But since the election, it is clear there is no love lost in either direction. He simply could not bring himself to gain the support of Republicans period, to the point now where he is considering a change of political parties. If he changes parties, I wish him a fond adieu.
As for me, as I have reported, I did vote for him in the hopes of holding a majority in the Senate. And had he won, we would have had a Republican Majority Leader, but so what, really. Chafee's pacifism and general left leaning views would have been giving us all fits everytime a controversial vote ensued. Better that he's not there. I'll admit, my striving and anxiety, on this issue at least, amounted to nil, as is the wont of striving and anxiety.
So now we enter a rebuilding year.
We will be in the vantage point of viewing from the gallery, and now the Democrats, having "caught the car" so to speak, need to deliver.
It's their chance to lead. We'll see what happens now. I am not all that optimistic, and expect to see division among the more militant anti-Iraq war Senator elects, like Webb of Virgina, in the coming days.
It was interesting to see how accurate David Brooks was in his view several weeks ago that congressional moderates would get the boot. That's when I realized Chafee was doomed, and that the likely outcome in RI would be a Democratic sweep.
Chafee made no effort to pull in Laffey supporters, probably out of fear he would be deemed to be too right wing and too much of a warmonger if he did. But since the election, it is clear there is no love lost in either direction. He simply could not bring himself to gain the support of Republicans period, to the point now where he is considering a change of political parties. If he changes parties, I wish him a fond adieu.
As for me, as I have reported, I did vote for him in the hopes of holding a majority in the Senate. And had he won, we would have had a Republican Majority Leader, but so what, really. Chafee's pacifism and general left leaning views would have been giving us all fits everytime a controversial vote ensued. Better that he's not there. I'll admit, my striving and anxiety, on this issue at least, amounted to nil, as is the wont of striving and anxiety.
So now we enter a rebuilding year.
We will be in the vantage point of viewing from the gallery, and now the Democrats, having "caught the car" so to speak, need to deliver.
It's their chance to lead. We'll see what happens now. I am not all that optimistic, and expect to see division among the more militant anti-Iraq war Senator elects, like Webb of Virgina, in the coming days.
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